In the Calm
by JRCash
Summary: Fluffy one-shot set post ROTK. [Aragorn x Arwen]


_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own these characters. I just make them do stuff. I do not profit from this in any way, shape or form._

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _It's been well over a decade since I've written anything LOTR_ _related, so apologies for any mistakes._

* * *

Arwen stirred beneath the blankets. Rolling onto her back, she folded her hands and rested them against her chest as she looked up at the draped fabric of the canopy that hung above her. She had been restless now for what seemed like hours. All of Minas Tirith was tranquil in the darkness of the night as she tossed and turned within her own bed chambers. There was no wind to rustle the leaves outside of the window, not even a mouse stirred in the corners of the white stone walls, yet sleep eluded her.

Turning to her side, she rested her head against her husband's shoulder and placed her hand onto his chest. He was not with the woken world, his breaths were slow and his eyes closed in a peaceful slumber. Any troubles or worries were distant memories in his mind. She could not say the same of hers.

"How I envy your peace in this moment" Arwen whispered softly to his sleeping figure. Her fingers traced patterns against his loose tunic as she listened to his steady heartbeat.

Her continued touch had awoken Aragorn as he gathered himself for a moment, adjusting quickly to the darkness surrounding him. His natural reaction from years as a ranger of reaching for his sword quickly quelled as he realized it was his wife beside him that had stirred him from his sleep, not an impending danger. Despite now a king, his old habits were ones that would die hard.

"Why are you awake at such an hour?" Aragorn questioned, his voice rough with sleep.

"I cannot say".

"A mortal must sleep, not only for body but for mind" Aragorn reminded his wife gently as he looked over at her shadowed figure beside him.

"I have tried. Sleep will not come".

"I will call for a servant to fetch you tea. Or warm milk perhaps?" he suggested tenderly.

"Nay, no need for such things. I have already tried both". She smiled softly as Aragorn raised his arm slightly, allowing her to slip into the crook of his shoulder. Resting back against his side in his embrace, Arwen giggled delicately. "I have even tried counting horses in my head, yet I am still awake".

"This is the third night this week I have stirred in slumber to find you with none. What troubles your mind?"

With a sigh, Arwen looked up at her husband. His gaze was soft, his grayish-blue eyes focused down upon on her with curiosity and a hint of concern. There was little use keeping her thoughts from her husband. He could read her too well, almost a sixth sense about her he possessed. He could always tell when she was unsettled or uneasy, even if she did not speak openly of the matters that concerned her.

"Never would I have thought that a new age would have come with peace in the lands. For us to find ourselves in such simple moments. I fear that this will not last, that the call of battle will sound for you again" she confessed.

"My love, you cannot worry about the future in such a manner" Aragorn replied as he caressed her cheek. Taking hold of a lock of her dark hair, he twisted the loose curl around his index finger, letting the silken strand slide over his calloused skin.

"Aye" she agreed quietly before letting out a long sigh, relaxing into the gentle touch of her husband. "I run the times I could have lost you through my mind with much sadness. I wish to never feel such fear or worry for you again in the way I felt before, my beloved".

Aragorn squeezed her tightly to his side in a reassuring manner. "I am not lost. My body may bear many scars from darker times, but I am alive with you here in better ones".

Arwen felt as some of weight on her mind had been lifted, but her doubts still lingered deep within her as she lay in silence. Unknown time frames of mortality still haunted her. As much as she tried to push the thought of the enviable endings of life from her thoughts, she still grappled with the uncertainties of it all. It was a choice she had made to be with the one she loved, but the question still remained. Would it all come crashing down in a day, week, a decade or a hundred years, she would never know. Closing her eyes for a moment, her dark lashes fluttered closed as she tried to clear her mind. She took in the scent of her husband, memorizing how despite the rich fabrics of his tunic and the title he held, he still smelled faintly wild and uninhabited. His touch was light against her skin but his hands still bore reminders of wielding a sword in his battle hardened fingertips. Living in doubt and concern would only strip away the sweetness of life, she reminded to herself. She must live each day and cherish each moment.

"Undómiel?" Aragorn questioned, breaking her from her thoughts. "Are you well?"

Arwen nodded slowly, her eyes opening again to meet his gaze.

Placing a kiss on top of her hair, Aragorn let his embrace on her go. He could feel that while she had cleared some of her thoughts, something deeper remained, causing sleep to still evade her. Pulling the blankets from his body, he stood from bed and took a few long steps across the room towards the fireplace. A long wooden box sat on the mantle. Taking the box from it's resting spot and into his hands, Aragorn crossed back towards Arwen, rounding around the mattress to her side. Extending his hand to hers, her fingers came to rest in his as he guided her from the bed.

"Come, my love. We will sit on the balcony and I will share with you my pipe. It will help ease any more troubles from your mind".

The night was cool and calm. The balcony outside of the bed chamber was not expansive, but held enough space for a small sitting area composed of a small table, a few chairs and a long upholstered chaise. Thick vines grew up around a trellis that covered the patio making it a secluded and serene place. Long purple flowers hung from the leaves above, their scent perfuming the evening air with a pleasant aroma.

Arwen lifted the hem of her silken nightgown as she tucked her leg behind her and sat onto the chaise in a relaxed fashion. Aragorn set the wooden box on a low table in front them and clicked open the golden hinge to reveal the contents. Within the velvet lined box sat his pipe along with a few drawstring bags of various types of pipe-weed. Aragorn made quick work of opening one of the small burlap bags and began packing the dried leaves into the bowl of his pipe, his fingertips pressing the contents firmly into place.

"What is this you are offering me?" Arwen asked as she watched him work.

"Southern star. One of the finest kinds in all of Middle Earth. A gift from our halfling friends. It will silence your thoughts and make you at peace". Tapping the last bits of the shredded herb into the bowl, Aragorn nodded. Satisfied with the preparation, Aragorn lit the pipe, taking a quick puff, allowing the contents to catch the flame completely before passing it to Arwen.

Taking the end of the long pipe to her lips, Arwen took a hesitant draw. Such an activity was one that a Queen did not usually participate in, only having seen men enjoy such a thing. The herbs glowed with fire in the bowl, casting an orange glow across her pale fingers in which the pipe was held. As she exhaled, smoke curled between them in the inky night air. She let out a small cough as the last of the vapor dissipated.

"If that is one of the finer varieties, I would hate to feel what a lesser kind felt upon my chest" Arwen remarked as she passed the pipe back to Aragorn.

Aragorn smiled as he reached for the pipe and took a long draw. His eyes closed for a moment as he took the smoke into his lungs, savoring the earthy flavor.

The herbed scent of smoke melded with the sweet fragrance of the flowers in the night air. After a few more draws, Arwen had taken to the pipe. She soon found the pipe-weed's effects calming as she became accustomed with the activity. She had quickly familiarized herself with exactly how much to take in each time so to not cough or feel as though her chest was being burned as the smoke lingered in her body for too long. The two passed the pipe back and forth between each other until the pipe-weed in the bowl was reduced to ash and the embers no longer glowed hot. Setting the pipe onto the table, Aragorn leaned back on the chaise. Wrapping his arm around Arwen, she relaxed back alongside him and into his embrace. Her body seemed to be weightless under his touch, her mind aware of her surroundings yet seemingly meters away from where she sat.

Aragorn's gaze was to the sky above them. Through peaks in the thicket of leaves, he could see distant stars twinkling in the night sky. He himself had pondered the same thoughts that had kept his wife awake at night many times. He hardly wished to dwell on such things, for worrying about the unknown never did any good. Peace had come to the lands and he was here with his beloved in his arms. There was no more he could ask of in life. His attention was drawn from the sky as he felt Arwen shift slightly at his side, her muted voice breaking through the silence between them.

"Why are you not tired? You consumed nearly double as much as I have" Arwen asked hazily, hardly moving her head from her husband's chest to speak.

Tracing his fingertips across her ear, he took in how pointed and smooth her delicate elfin features were. He tucked a fallen strand of her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers slip through her loose curls. "How do you think I lulled myself to slumber all the nights I spent away from you in the wilds? My tolerance is mighty against this herb's effects".

Her breaths fell into a short and shallow rhythm as she began to fade from the waking world. Her expression was soft, her bright eyes now hidden behind her lashes. The warmth of her husband encompassing her, guarding her against the cool night air as she finally drifted off into the untroubled calm she had sought for so long.

Leaning slightly towards her, Aragorn pressed a light kiss against the top of her hair. "For all of time, you hold my heart" he whispered to Arwen. "I love you".


End file.
